This book analyses a selection of leading works in the criminal law to ask questions about how the modern discipline of criminal law has developed, how it has been deployed in colonial and postcolonial contexts, and how criminal law scholarship has engaged with traditionally marginalised perspectives such as feminism, queer theory, and anti-carceral and abolitionist movements. The works analysed range from Macaulay’s Indian Penal Code (1837) to more recent textbooks and monographs on criminal law, and their jurisdictional reach extends to India, Canada, Australia, Malawi, the UK and the USA. The contributing authors include scholars, activists and legal practitioners, each of whom explores the intellectual development and geographical reach of Anglocriminal law via the work they analyse. Across the collection, the editors and contributors address the question of what it means to be a leading work in criminal law. The book will be a valuable resource for students, academics and researchers working in the area of criminal law.

This book examines the relationship between legal tradition and national identity to offer a critical and historical perspective on the study of criminal law. Developing a radically different approach to questions of responsibility and subjectivity, it combines appreciation of the institutional and historical context in which criminal law is practiced with an informed understanding of the law itself. Drawing on original research into the development of Scottish criminal justice, it offers the first full-length critique of modern criminal law theory.

The criminal trial is under attack. Traditional principles have been challenged or eroded; in England and Wales the right to trial by jury has been restricted and rules concerning bad character evidence, double jeopardy and the right to silence have been substantially altered to "rebalance" the system in favour of victims. In the pursuit of security, particularly from terrorism, the right to a fair trial has been denied to some altogether. In fact trials have for a long time been an infrequent occurrence, most criminal convictions being the consequence of a guilty plea. Moreover, while this very public struggle over the future of the criminal trial is conducted, there is also a less publicly observed controversy about the significance of trials in modern society. Trials are under normative attack, their value being doubted by those who seek different kinds of process - conciliatory or restorative - to address the needs of victims and move away from the imposition of state power through trials and punishments. This book seeks to develop a normative theory of the criminal trial as a way of defending the importance of trials in our criminal justice system. The trial, it is suggested, calls defendants to answer a charge and, if they are criminally responsible, to account for their conduct. The trial is seen as a communicative process through which the defendant can challenge claims of wrongdoing made against him, including the norms in the light of which those claims are made. The book develops this communicative theory by first making a careful study of the history of trials, before moving on to outline the theory, which is then developed through chapters looking at the practices and principles of trials, alternative regulatory models, the roles of participants, the relationship between investigation and trial and trials as public fora.

Can traditional approaches to criminal jurisdiction adapt to the new global reality of the digital era? In this innovative book, leading experts in criminal, international and internet law unite to address this fundamental question. They consider how jurisdictional regimes are orientated around concepts of territoriality and extraterritoriality, how these categories are increasingly blurred in the digital era, and how a range of jurisdictional transformations are occurring in the process. Part I presents novel doctrinal, empirical and theoretical perspectives on criminal jurisdiction, exploring how states are shaping and reimagining jurisdictional concepts in the crafting and interpretation of criminal offences, and the ramifications of increasing jurisdictional concurrency in state practice. Part II focuses on the investigative and enforcement powers of the state to assess how these issues are transforming traditional understandings of jurisdictional rules and boundaries, the challenges and opportunities that these present for law enforcement authorities, and the sorts of constraints and safeguards that may be necessary as a result. The picture that emerges is a world of jurisdictional rules in a state of flux, which demands the diversity of legal perspectives presented in this book for documenting, rationalising and moving beyond the transformations that are taking shape in modern statecraft.

What are the aims of a criminal trial? What social functions should it perform? And how is the trial as a political institution linked to other institutions in a democratic polity? What follows if we understand a criminal trial as calling a defendant to answer to a charge of criminal wrongdoing and, if he is judged to be responsible for such wrongdoing, to account for his conduct? A normative theory of the trial, an account of what trials ought to be and of what ends they should serve, must take these central aspects of the trial seriously; but they raise a number of difficult questions. They suggest that the trial should be seen as a communicative process: but what kinds of communication should it involve? What kind of political theory does a communicative conception of the trial require? Can trials ever actually amount to more than the imposition of state power on the defendant? What political role might trials play in conflicts that must deal not simply with issues of individual responsibility but with broader collective wrongs, including wrongs perpetrated by, or in the name of, the state? These are the issues addressed by the essays in this volume. The third volume in this series, in which the four editors of this volume develop their own normative account, will be published in 2007.

Modern Histories of Crime and Punishment showcases a variety of disciplinary, methodological, and theoretical approaches that, taken together, contribute to our understanding of the history of criminal law. The book features work done by historians, lawyers, theorists, and sociologists on the history of criminal law and highlights how this multidisciplinary scholarship can help to frame critical analysis in the study and teaching of modern criminal law. As Modern Histories makes clear, the historical analysis of crime and punishment is not a freestanding inquiry into a distinct institution or body of legal doctrine, but in the end amounts to a daunting, yet exhilarating, venture into the webs of governance and control that constitute social and political life.

The trial is central to the institutional framework of criminal justice. It provides the procedural link between crime and punishment, and is the forum in which both guilt and innocence and sentence are determined. Its continuing significance is evidenced by the heated responses drawn by recent government proposals to reform rules of criminal procedure and evidence so as to alter the status of the trial within the criminal justice process and to limit the role of the jury. Yet for all of the attachment to trial by jury and to principles safeguarding the right to a fair trial there has been remarkably little theoretical reflection on the meaning of fairness in the trial and criminal procedure, the relationship between rules of evidence, procedure and substantive law, or the functions and normative foundations of the trial process. There is a need, in other words, to develop a normative understanding of the criminal trial. The book is based on the proceedings of two workshops which took place in 2003, addressing the theme of Truth and Due Process in the Criminal Trial. The essays in the book are concerned with the question of whether, and in what sense, we can take the discovery of truth to be the central aim of the procedural and evidential rules and practices of criminal investigation and trial. They are divided into four parts addressing distinct but inter-related issues: models of the trial (Duff, Matravers, McEwan); the meaning of due process (Gunther, Dubber); the meaning of truth and the nature of evidence (Jung, Pritchard); and legitimacy and rhetoric in the trial (Burns, Christodoulidis).

The Criminalization series arose from an interdisciplinary investigation into criminalization, focussing on the principles that might guide decisions about what kinds of conduct should be criminalized, and the forms that criminalization should take. Developing a normative theory of criminalization, the series tackles the key questions at the heart of the issue: what principles and goals should guide legislators in deciding what to criminalize? How should criminal wrongs be classified and differentiated? How should law enforcement officials apply the law's specifications of offences? This, the fifth book in the series, offers a historical and conceptual account of the development of the modern criminal law in England and as it has spread to common law jurisdictions around the world. The book offers a historical perspective on the development of theories of criminalization. It shows how the emergence of theories of criminalization is inextricably linked to modern understandings of the criminal law as a conceptually distinct body of rules, and how this in turn has been shaped by the changing functions of criminal law as an instrument of government in the modern state. The book is structured in two main parts. The first traces the development of the modern law as a distinct, and conceptually distinct body of rules, looking in particular at ideas of jurisdiction, codification and responsibility. The second part then engages in detailed analysis of specific areas of criminal law, focusing on patterns of criminalization in relation to property, the person, and sexual conduct.

The Criminalization series arose from an interdisciplinary investigation into criminalization, focussing on the principles that might guide decisions about what kinds of conduct should be criminalized, and the forms that criminalization should take. Developing a normative theory of criminalization, the series tackles the key questions at the heart of the issue: what principles and goals should guide legislators in deciding what to criminalize? How should criminal wrongs be classified and differentiated? How should law enforcement officials apply the law's specifications of offences? The fourth book in the series examines the political morality of the criminal law, exploring general principles and theories of criminalization. Chapters provide accounts of the criminal law in the light of ambitious theories about moral and political philosophy - republicanism and contractarianism, or reflect upon on the success of important theories of criminalization by viewing them in a novel light. Ideas that are fundamental to any complete theory of the criminal law - liberty, harm, and the effect on victims - are investigated in depth. Sociological investigation of the criminal law grounds a critical investigation into the principles of criminalization, both as a legislative matter, and with respect to criminalization practices, in contemporary and historical contexts. The volume broadens our conceptions of the theory of criminalization, and clarifies the role of the series in the development of this theory. It is essential reading for all interested in legal, political, and social theories of criminalization.

The third book in the Criminalization series examines the constitutionalization of criminal law. It considers how the criminal law is constituted through the political processes of the state; how the agents of the criminal law can be answerable to it themselves; and finally, how the criminal law can be constituted as part of the international order. Addressing the ways in which and the grounds on which types of conduct can be justifiably criminalized, the first four chapters of this volume focus on the questions that arise from a consideration of the political constitution of the criminal law. The contributors then turn their attention to the role of the state, its institutions and officials, and their role not only as creators, enactors, interpreters, and enforcers of the criminal law, but also as subjects of it. How can the agents of the criminal law also be answerable to it? Finally discussion turns to how the criminal law can be constituted as part of an international order. Examining the relationships between domestic laws of different nation-states, and between domestic criminal law and international or transnational law, the chapters also look at the authority and jurisdiction of international criminal law itself, and its relationship to other dimensions of the international order. A vital examination of one of the most important topics in modern criminal legal theory, this volume raises new questions central to the study of the criminal law and offers new suggestions for addressing them.

This book is a critical and historical study of the theory of criminal law which examines, in particular, the relationship between legal tradition and national identity, while developing a radically new approach to questions of responsibility and subjectivity. Previous studies have focused either on the philosophical bases of the criminal law or on the sociology and social history of crime, but there has been little exchange between the two. Lindsay Farmer's is one of the first extended attempts to draw on both fields in order to analyse the body of theorising about the criminal law as a whole. It displays a rare knowledge of the legal, institutional and historical contexts in which criminal law is practised, in combination with an informed understanding of the law itself. Dr Farmer uses contemporary social theory to develop an account of the relationship between legal practice and national culture in Scotland, analysing the belief in the distinctive spirit or 'genius' of Scots law. An exploration of the boundary between national limits and the universal aspirations of criminal law theory reveals the specifically modern characteristics of the criminal law and exposes how contemporary criminal law theory fundamentally misrepresents the character of modern criminal justice.

Modern Histories of Crime and Punishment showcases a variety of disciplinary, methodological, and theoretical approaches that, taken together, contribute to our understanding of the history of criminal law. The book features work done by historians, lawyers, theorists, and sociologists on the history of criminal law and highlights how this multidisciplinary scholarship can help to frame critical analysis in the study and teaching of modern criminal law. As Modern Histories makes clear, the historical analysis of crime and punishment is not a freestanding inquiry into a distinct institution or body of legal doctrine, but in the end amounts to a daunting, yet exhilarating, venture into the webs of governance and control that constitute social and political life.

Criminalization is a new series arising from an interdisciplinary investigation into the issue of criminalization, focussing on the principles and goals that should guide decisions about what kinds of conduct are to be criminalized, and the forms that criminalization should take. Developing a normative theory of criminalization, the six volumes will tackle the key questions at the heart of issue: By reference to what principles and goals should legislations decide what to criminalize? How should criminal wrongs be classified and differentiated? And how should law enforcement officials apply the law's specification of offences? The second volume in the series concerns itself with the structures of criminal law in three different senses. The first examines the internal structure of the criminal law itself and the questions posed by familiar distinctions between which offences are typically analysed. These questions of classification include discussion of the growing range of crimes and the problems posed by this broadening of definition. Should traditional ideas and conceptions of the criminal law be reshaped in light of recent developments or should these developments be criticized and refuted? Structures of criminal law also refer to the place of the criminal law within the larger structure of the law. Here the book examines the relationships with and between the criminal law and other aspects of law, particularly private law and public law. It also looks at how the criminal law is made, and by whom. Finally the third sense of structure is outlined - the relationships between legal structures and social and political structures. What place does the criminal law have within the existing political and social landscapes? What are the influences, both political and social, upon the criminal law, and should they be allowed to influence the law in this fashion? What is its proper role? Focussing not only on the questions about the criminal law's proper scope, but also on crucial questions about how crimes should be structured, defined, and classified, this book provides a deeper understanding of criminalization.

Criminalization is a new series arising from an interdisciplinary investigation into criminalization, focusing on the principles and goals that should guide decisions about what kinds of conduct are to be criminalized, and the forms that criminalization should take. Developing a normative theory of criminalization, the six volumes will tackle the key questions at the heart of the issue: By reference to what principles and goals should legislations decide what to criminalize? How should criminal wrongs be classified and differentiated? And how should law enforcement officials apply the law's specification of offenses?
Boundaries of the Criminal Law is the first book in this series examining the scope and boundaries of the criminal law. Investigations into the scope of the criminal law have often focused on the harm principle, the principle that conduct can be justifiably criminalized only if it is harmful, or other master principles that might determine the proper scope of the criminal law. This collection of original essays by some of the leading scholars in criminal law and philosophy from the UK and the US makes significant advances in the development of a broader range of ideas that might inform criminalization decisions.
A range of issues are discussed, including the significance for criminalization of ideas of moral wrongdoing and of using a person as a means, the distinction between criminal law and other forms of legal regulation, the role of new technology in our understanding of the evolving scope of the criminal law, and the role of criminal justice officials in decision-making about criminalization. The authors draw on legal and philosophical sources, but also on history, sociology and social psychology in their investigations for a truly interdisciplinary approach.
This is a groundbreaking set of essays which will help to reorient legal and philosophical discussion about the proper scope of the criminal law.

This collection of essays honours the work of Sir Gerald Gordon CBE QC LLD (1929-). In modern times few, if any, individuals can have been as important to a single country's criminal law as Sir Gerald has been to the criminal law of Scotland. His monumental work The Criminal Law of Scotland (1967) is the foundation of modern Scottish criminal law and is recognised internationally as a major contribution to academic work on the subject. Elsewhere, he has made significant contributions as an academic, judge and as a member of the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission. Reflecting the academic rigour and practical application of Sir Gerald's work, this volume includes essays on criminal law theory, substantive law and evidence and procedure by practitioners and academics within and outside of Scotland, including contributions from England, Ireland and the USA. Key Features: *chapters encompass a broad range of subjects of contemporary interest and significance *both substantive and procedural criminal law *contributors from practitioners and academics from both within and outwith Scotland, reflecting the influence and recognition afforded to Sir Gerald's work.